DiCaprio: What about donating to grassroots Native activists

Photo by Brenda Norrell

'Big Green' non-profit heads are making half a million annually, while many Native grassroots activists work without pay -- why not donate

By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
Dutch translation by Alice Holemans, NAIS
http://www.denaisgazet.be/nieuws/dicaprio-wat-denk-je-van-doneren-aan-grassroots-native-activisten

Heh DiCaprio,

It is great to see the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation donating to so many good causes -- but the president of the Natural Resources Defense Council already makes $422,000 a year. Why not donate to some of the grassroots Native Americans who live on their homeland and fight the good fight everyday. They won't mind if you don't donate a million -- even $5,000 goes a long way with grassroots struggles. 

Just scroll back through Censored News over the past 10 years and you'll find plenty of Native Americans working without a salary. Below, I've listed a few regular contributors to Censored News. These are Native Americans who are unpaid or receive only small donations.

As for the 'Big Greens' on your donation list, these CEO salaries are hard to believe.

The CEO for Wildlife Conservation Society already receives $798,442 each year. The World Wildlife Fund CEO makes $637,686 each year. Meanwhile, over at Conservation International, the CEO is receiving $518,553 annually, according to Charity Navigator.

As for donating to National Geographic, Rupert Murdoch, upset over 'greenies' and the Paris climate summit, recently bought controlling interest in the National Geographic.

So, please consider donating to grassroots Native Americans:

Mohawk Nation News is among the most frequent contributors to Censored News.
www.mohawknationnews.com

Owe Aku International Justice Project: Lakotas fighting the good fight against tarsands and uranium mining
http://www.oweakuinternational.org/

Ofelia Rivas, Tohono O'odham, human rights at the border, exposing abuse by the US Border Patrol and militarization of the border.
http://www.solidarity-project.org/

Dine' on Big Mountain include Louise Benally. Louise and family have been resisting relocation for 40 years. An article of Louise's comments, censored by Indian Country Today, was among those leading to the creation of Censored News. Louise compared the war in Iraq with the Longest Walk of Dine' to the prison camp of Fort Sumner, N.M.
Louise Benally, 143 Leupp Road, Flagstaff, Ariz. 86004

Bahe Katenaay of Big Mountain was also censored by Indian Country. Bahe revealed how oil and gas drilling is destroying Dinetah, the Dine' place of Origin. Bahe currently publishes Sheep Dog Nation Rocks.

http://sheepdognationrocks.blogspot.com

San Carlos Apache fighting Arizona Sen John McCain's land giveaway of sacred Oak Flat for copper mining http://www.apache-stronghold.com/

Outta Your Backpack Media: Indigenous news and video production. Special thanks to Klee Benally and the Native youths, based in Flagstaff, Arizona.
http://oybm.org/donate/


American Indian Genocide Museum, President Steve Melendez, Pyramid Lake Paiute http://www.aigenom.org

Joye Braun, Cheyenne River Lakota halting megaloads in her wheelchair.

Colville tribal member Yvonne Swan said, "I agree. It's not that difficult to hire a grassroots team to do the research. I've been involved in several grassroots efforts and we couldn't get any funding in the US because we could not hire a lawyer to get non-profit status. At the time, the action was more important than paperwork. I didn't appreciate the advice that created more work, we had enough to do. I got a $10,000 grant from a group of caring people in England to go against the Canadian government who disturbed our ancestral burial ground. I worked on that repatriation and land issue for five years and that's the only grant I got. But we secured the burial ground despite Canada and other adversaries. We could still use money to pay legal help, but, who cares?" (Contact Yvonne at Yvonne L. Swan, PO Box 49, Inchelium, WA 99138.)


To end on a high note, DiCaprio is donating to Digital Democracy, which has been training Indigenous in the Amazon to use technology in monitoring areas of oil and gas drilling.

Dicaprio Foundation donations for 2016: 
Amazon Watch – Biomimicry Institute – Bioneers – California Wolf Center: Pacific Wolf Coalition – ClearWater – Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund – Conservation International – Dark Snow – Digital Democracy – Earth Echo International – Empowered by Light – International Fund for Animal Welfare – National Geographic: Pristine Seas – Natural Resources Defense Council – Oceans 5 – Save The Elephants – Saving Species – Tetiaroa Society – The Conservation Land Trust – The Solutions Project – Tony Fitzjohn/George Adamson African Wildlife Preservation Trust – Tree People – Virunga Fund – WaterKeeper – Wildlife Conservation Network – Wildlife Conservation Society – World Wildlife Fund



For contact info to donate to individuals or organizations, please send an e-mail to: brendanorrell@gmail.com